Winds of Change
by Crystal Dragon's Lament
Summary: Rie has always been spunky and outgoing but she has some reservations about the Black Order. When the exorcists come to her town to investigate Innocence, many things are about to change.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Winds of Change

Summary: Rie has always been spunky and outgoing but she has some reservations about the Black Order. When the exorcists come to her town to investigate Innocence, many things are about to change. Suck at summaries.

A/N: So I've had this first chapter done for ages and the idea for the story for even longer. Don't know what stopped me from posting it…..oh yeah; title issues. It took even longer to think up a title. I hate giving things titles…. Well I'm just gonna go to my happy place now while you read (runs through a field of flowers happily chasing a butterfly)

_Chapter One_

Hazy light drifted in through the half shuttered windows of the train. Outside the clouds were low over the land, enveloping everything in a deep fog. The sun was now rising though and the clouds would soon be gone, dissipated by the morning sunlight. Even now, the green grass still wet with dew was beginning to emerge from the fog, closely followed by the ancient trees of the forest through which they were passing.

Within a cabin on the train five people dressed in slightly varying black and white uniforms sat in silence, waiting out the train ride. The exorcists had been on the same train since yesterday afternoon and a couple of them were becoming quite restless despite the early hour. Allen was watching out the window, enjoying the sight of nature breaking free of the oppressive mist while Kanda sat on the opposite side of the cabin by the door, as far away from Allen he could get. Beside Allen Lavi was fast asleep against the wall, snoring away without a care in the world. He had flopped over onto Allen once or twice when the train ride became bumpy and sent him careening into Allen. Krory was watching the same scene as Allen, though with more enthusiasm, drawing the occasional glare from Kanda. Lenalee sat between the two, going over a map of their destination.

Krory, finally getting the hint from Kanda, settled back into his seat and looked over at the map in Lenalee's lap. "Excuse me, Miss Lenalee?" he asked politely.

"Yes, Count?"

"What is our mission again? And where are we headed?"

Lenalee had to work hard to hold back her laughter. Count Arystar Krory was such a nice man with a good heart but he was somewhat forgetful and impossibly naïve. It probably came from living inside a castle his entire life, never being allowed to leave. Until he drank the blood of an akuma, that is. He became a completely different person under those circumstances.

"We're headed to a town called Tharnis." Everyone looked over at Lavi when he spoke. No one had noticed him wake up. He sat in his seat with his hands behind his head and one leg resting on the other. "We're going to investigate rumors of increased akuma activity and some odd wind patterns."

"Oh, that's right." Krory was silent for a moment before continuing. "I wonder what they mean by 'odd wind patterns'."

"Dunno," Lavi replied with a shrug, returning his hands to his sides. He turned to Kanda with a big smile on his face. "What do you think Yuu?" Allen was hard pressed to stifle his laughter.

"Do not call me by my name," he said to Lavi with all the warmth of the Antarctic. Allen laughed a bit more, drawing a glare from Kanda. "Something funny, Moyashi?"

Allen returned Kanda's glare with equal force. "My name is Allen. Allen!"

Lenalee leaned back in her seat to study her map. She didn't want to get caught up in their petty argument, even if it was funny.

Krory turned to Lenalee again. "How much longer do you suppose it is until we arrive?"

She was about to reply when the finder sitting outside their door piped up. At his voice, the other three fell silent. "We will arrive in approximately seventeen minutes. When we do, we will have to find a place to stay, as we were unable to secure a lodging before-hand."

Allen thought for a moment before adding his opinion. "I think looking for a place to stay can wait. If there are as many akuma around as the rumors say then we should have a look around first." The others agreed after a moment of thought, even Kanda.

They travelled the rest of the way in silence, though 'the rest of the way' only consisted of about seventeen minutes, as the finder had said it would. When they disembarked from the train they found themselves in a town slightly larger than they had expected. From everything they had heard about this village and the maps they had been looking at they had expected to find themselves in a bit of a smaller place. Apparently they had been wrong.

They emerged into a bright city bustling with morning activity. It wasn't as busy as some towns at this time of day but it was busier than anticipated.

"There are more people around than I thought there would be," Lenalee said. She sounded nervous. Allen knew it was because she didn't want to involve innocent people in fighting the akuma, if only by accident. He felt the same way.

"Don't worry, Lenalee." He gave her a kind, gentle smile, conveying his unspoken agreement. She returned his smile, a wordless thank you.

Kanda agreed with them, but for different reasons. More people meant more possible akuma as well as more obstacles when the fighting began.

Krory broke into everyone's thoughts. "So we look for clues now, right?" he asked. "Should we split up?"

"I don't think so," Lavi replied almost at once. "In this size of city it would be best to stick together. Safety in numbers, right?"

"Che." Kanda seemed somewhat annoyed. "I don't need people like you around."

"Of course not," Lavi said happily. "Yuu doesn't need anybody."

"Say that one more time and I'll cut you." Lavi, somewhat cowed by the murderous expression on Kanda's face, decided that silence was in order.

None the less they stuck together as they struck out to look for clues of Innocence. They spent quite some time doing this and found a couple of useful tips. They confirmed the increase in akuma, though none had tried to attack them yet and also learned some more about wind.

"It's very strange," one old woman said. "The odd winds happen only on the outskirts of town and very rarely do they travel inwards."

"Can you tell us any more about the wind ma'am?" Allen asked.

"Let's see." The old lady thought for a moment before continuing. "Ah yes. It goes against the rest of the wind, in somewhat of a shape."

Lenalee looked somewhat confused. "Could you explain a bit more please?"

"Of course, dearie." She looked so happy to be helping them. "In one place the wind will be blowing as it should but in some spots, and never the same ones mind you, the wind has changed. It's not constant either. The winds move differently as well. It swirls and twists in a cylinder that bends and weaves across the sky. You can even see it, if the moonlight is right."

"Moonlight?" Krory was the one to speak this time. "This only occurs at night?"

"Yes, only at night," she confirmed. "And not every night either. There seems to be no pattern, really."

Allen nodded at her words. "Thank you for all of your help."

"Oh not a problem dearies. Happy to help any time." She waved goodbye as they walked away down the street.

Once they were out of hearing range of anyone around them they began discussing what they had heard from the old woman. "Well this is definitely Innocence," Allen said aloud.

"You expected otherwise?" Kanda asked with a sneer.

"Kanda, be nice," Lenalee reproached him gently.

"Do you think someone already has the Innocence?" Krory asked.

"It's possible," Lavi admitted. "Probable, actually, since the wind is moving, though whoever has it may not know that they do."

Before anyone could say another word a little kid of about eight of nine years old came barreling towards them. He bumped into Krory as he ran past, knocking him sideways a bit.

"Children have such energy," he said happily. Kanda stared after the child suspiciously before turning back to the others.

"Krory, check your pockets," he said. The others turned to him with confused looks.

"Pardon, sir Kanda?" Krory asked.

"I said, check you pockets."

Without asking another question Krory began to search his pockets. After a moment be began to panic.

"What's the matter Kuro-chan?" Lavi asked.

"My money!" His voice had raised an octave. "My money is gone!"

"What?" Allen seemed almost as panicked as Krory.

"It appears that child was a pick-pocket," Kanda said calmly.

"What do we do?" Krory cried.

"We chase after him of course!" For some reason, Lavi sounded excited as he bounded off after the kid. The others followed close on his heels.

Though the young boy had a head start on them all five were much faster than him. However the kid was a local so he knew all the twists and turns to take."

Finally he dodged down an alley and the exorcists had to take a sharp turn to keep up with him. The lot of them tripped over each other. They stood up as quick as they could and looked down the alley desperately, afraid they had lost the kid. What they saw wasn't quite what they had expected.

At the end of the alley stood a girl with black hair in spikey pigtails reaching about midway down her back. Her bangs, thought, were dark blue. She had the boy by the arm and was looking at him sternly.

"How many times do I have to tell you, Kaleb? Don't steal from people."

"Ow! Let go of my arm!" he complained loudly.

"Give me the wallet," she said.

"Look at them!" he told her. "They've got plenty of money. They could spare me some!"

"Kaleb!" She tightened her grip on his arm.

"Ow! Fine!" He handed the girl the wallet and she immediately released his arm. He took off at a dead run past her as soon as he was free.

She walked over to the stunned exorcists and held out the wallet. Her eyes wandered over each of them, pausing for a moment on Kanda before continuing. "So, whose wallet is this?" she asked.

Krory took a step forwards. "That would be mine," he said sheepishly.

Smiling, she handed it back to him. "You should be more careful."

"Yes, I will. Thank you."

Kanda looked at her suspiciously. There was something oddly familiar about this girl. "Who--" He was interrupted before he could say anything else by Lavi. He had managed to make his way through the others without being noticed and was now standing directly in front of the new girl.

"My name's Lavi," he said sweetly. "And what might yours be?"

She stared at him for a moment before smiling coyly and winking at him. "Hey there, cutie." She added a little giggle at the end. For some reason, in the background Kanda was resisting, though just barely, a very strong urge to rip Lavi's head violently from his shoulders. Strange.

Before Lavi could continue Lenalee interrupted him. "Thank you, again," she said as she shot a glare at Lavi while dragging him back a pace or two by the back of his clothing.

The girl turned to Lenalee now, Lavi all but forgotten. "No problem. That boy has been doing that a lot lately," she sighed. "I wish his parents would pay more attention to him."

"His parents ignore him?" Allen asked.

"Yeah," she replied. "But it's not my place to get mixed up in their family affairs." She looked at them again before asking "You guys got a place to stay tonight?"

"Not yet," Allen replied. "We were going to find somewhere now."

"You guys might be out of luck," she said sadly. "We have a festival going on within the next couple of days so all the inns are filled."

"Really?" Lenalee sounded worried.

"Yeah." She thought for a minute before an excited look crossed her face. "Hey, I know! Why don't you guys stay at my place? I have more room than I need."

"I wouldn't want to impose," Lenalee said softly.

"This is too much of a hassle," Kanda mumbled.

The girl gave him a funny look before replying. "I insist," she said. "It's been a while since I've had company anyways."

Allen was unsure about accepting. This girl was just an innocent bystander. If there were akuma here and they stayed with her then they would only cause her trouble.

"We'd be happy to!" Allen looked up with a start to see the others already following the girl down the alley and Lavi walking beside her with his usual stupid grin. Allen gaped after them for a second before following. He didn't necessarily approve but what was done was done. Besides, she seemed nice enough.

They reached her house shortly and at first they thought it was nothing more than a small, dingy apartment, but when she let them in, they were proven wrong again. From the outside it looked like several apartments, but inside they were all connected.

"How did you get a nice place like this?" Krory asked while looking around.

"Relatives, for one," she replied. "Good job for another."

"I see."

"Do you want something to eat first or do you want me to show you to your rooms?" she asked politely.

"I would prefer to see the rooms," Kanda replied coolly while looking around in mild approval.

"Only if you say please," she teased. Kanda gave her a menacing glance which she returned with a cheery smile.

"C'mon, Yuu," Lavi said, drawing out his name. "Say please!" Kanda didn't even look at him as he began to draw Mugen from its sheath.

Swiftly the girl walked between them, preventing any further altercations. "Before I show you your rooms there is something I would like you to see." All five exorcists looked at her with interest as she walked towards a large, dusty chest on the other side of the room.

It creaked and groaned loudly as she lifted the lid, scattering dust into the air. She got on her knees and began to rummage around inside the trunk. The others were becoming more interested now. Except Kanda that was, who was standing slightly back from the others with a bored expression on his face.

"Aha!" she exclaimed after a moment, drawing out what she had found in the chest. The exorcists couldn't see what she had found, as she was blocking their view. No one saw the evil grin that played itself across her face before she turned around.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So it turns out my plan to write in some semblance of order has completely failed. Not that it matters to me in the end. I'm gonna write for what I want to damn it! Oh well. R&R!

_Chapter Two_

The girl stood slowly before turning towards the exorcists gathered behind her, the item she had pulled from the chest held securely in her arms. Looks of shock and confusion registered on the faces of the exorcists as they beheld the object. They hadn't known what to expect but it wasn't this.

Slowly and with a completely straight face she began to walk towards them. They were unsure whether they should start backing away. When she was right in front of them they backed away from her, all except Kanda who stood his ground. She walked straight up to him and held the object out.

"Mr. Teddy has missed you." In her hands she held a ragged old brown teddy bear with a silver bow around its neck. Everyone stared in shock. Had this girl lost her mind? She had seemed so normal a moment ago.

"Mr…" Kanda began before he was interrupted by Lavi's hysterical laughter.

"Mr. Teddy?" Allen asked, obviously confused.

"Do you know this girl Mister Kanda?" Krory asked.

Kanda looked from the others to the girl. She did look familiar but he couldn't place her. _No…she couldn't be…_

Suddenly she started sobbing and threw herself on Kanda. "Why have you been gone so long?!" she wailed. "And you didn't even send a letter! Don't you love me anymore? Mr. Teddy and I have missed you so much and you don't even remember me!" She clung to him and continued to sob as he struggled to reach his Mugen.

"Who is this girl?" Lenalee asked.

Her waterworks immediately ceased, replaced by a knowing smirk. "Yes Yutan," she said, giving Kanda a schoolgirl nickname. "Who am I?"

At the sound of his name used in such a manner he realized who this girl clinging to him was. "You!"

Krory more or less stared at them in confusion.

"Her?" Lenalee asked.

Allen looked on incredulously. "Yutan?"

Lavi was on the floor laughing again.

The girl finally let go of a steaming Kanda. "Allow me to introduce myself," she said to the other exorcists. "I am Rie Kanda. I am Yuu's younger sister.

"Kanda has a sister?" Allen and Lavi said at the same time.

"What the hell are you doing here?" A quite frustrated Kanda demanded of Rie.

"I live here of course," she said, turning back to him. "You went off with the Black Order by yourself all those years ago," she pointed out. "What's so shocking about me being on my own at this age?"

He didn't say anything for a minute then suddenly turned around. "I'm going upstairs."

"Your bedroom is the second door on the right!" she called after him. She turned around to a bombardment of questions.

"You're Kanda's sister?" Allen marveled.

"Where did you guys grow up?" Lenalee asked.

"Was he always a stick in the mud?" Lavi questioned.

"I'm tired." Krory mumbled.

"Yes, later, of course, and I'll show you to your rooms," she answered them all. She turned around, her pigtails bobbing behind her as she led the way to their rooms. The others followed without hesitation. They were entranced by her. So apparently Kanda really didn't just pop out of the ground, fully grown, temper and all. This girl, Rie, was living proof of that.

"So, Lenalee," she said, turning to the Chinese girl. "You can have this room here. And you three," she said, turning to the guys, "can have this room here."

"Hey, no fair!" Lavi complained. "Why does she get a room to herself and I have to share a room with these two?"

"Because I like her more," Rie replied bluntly. Lavi didn't have a comeback for that one and Allen just snickered silently. "Well you all get some rest," she told them. "I'm guessing you've had a long day. Don't worry, we can gossip about Yutan in the morning."

Lavi cheered before entering his appointed room along with Allen and Krory, the last of which was walking more like a zombie than a vampire.

Lenalee was about to enter her own room when she paused and turned back to Rie. "Thank you for letting us stay here," she said, bowing her head.

"Not a problem!" she shrugged it off. "In return, you have to tell me what Yuu's been up to these past few years. Deal?" Rie asked, holding out her hand to the other girl.

She stared at Rie's hand for a moment before smiling and clasping it in her own. "Deal." The two girls said their goodnights and parted ways, Lenalee to her room and Rie to the roof.

The roof of Rie's house had a raised ledge; a small wall pretty much. She liked to sit there and watch the city below and the stars above. She sat there now, thinking of what had happened today. All in all, it had been very interesting. She had expected everything to go smoothly, just a bit of running around to do before some practice. Now everything had been turned upside down.

Five exorcists had shown up in their small town for who knew what reasons. That one of them was kind of cute though was a bonus. What was his name again? The red head with the eye patch. Right, Lavi. He was definitely cute. Her parents had always accused her of being a flirt, but it was fun.

To top it all off, one of the exorcists that had shown up was her brother that she hadn't seen in almost nine years. It was nice seeing him again after all this time, even if he was just as closed off as before. But the look on his face when she had called him 'Yutan' was priceless. She would remember that expression for years to come.

"Nice night out tonight." Rie whipped her head around, looking over her shoulder for the source of the voice that had pulled her from her thoughts. Lavi stood behind her with his hands behind his head and was no longer wearing his headband or his jacket.

"Hey," Rie greeted as he approached her. "I thought all you lazy exorcists had run off to bed already, exhausted from your hard day of nothing."

"What can I say?" he chuckled. "Doing nothing can be a very tiring task."

Rie laughed. "So I've heard." They were both silent for a moment, Rie sitting on the wall with her feet dangling off the edge and Lavi leaning on it beside her.

"So you and Yuu are really related?" he asked suddenly, breaking the silence.

"That hard to believe, eh?" It was more of a statement than a question. She knew how much her brother talked about himself so it wasn't surprising that no one had any idea that he had a sister. "We have another younger brother, too."

"Really now?" Lavi seemed interested by this fact. "He wouldn't happen to be all antisocial like Yuu would he?"

They both laughed at this though the thought of a second Kanda was somewhat intimidation. "Now that would be unfortunate," Rie said. "Nah, he's a good kid. He was only one when Kanda left to join the order though so he doesn't really remember him too well."

"How old are you anyways?" Lavi asked, suddenly curious.

"Sixteen," she replied. "I was seven when Kanda left. Our younger brother, Daichi, is ten right now."

"So you got all this," he said, indicating the house, "from family ties and working?"

"Pretty much," Rie confirmed. "Our family is actually fairly well off, mostly from the work they do back home, but Yuu is no doubt a large part of it as well."

"So what do you do?" he asked. She had said she had a good job though he couldn't imagine what it could be. It wasn't that he thought she wouldn't be able to do any work; he just couldn't picture her in a conventional job.

"I'm a dancer," she said, still watching the stars.

"A dancer?" Now that was definitely interesting.

"Traditional and modern," she added. She turned to him now, smiling coyly. "I could give you a demonstration if you'd like."

Lavi was about to reply rather enthusiastically when he felt a murderous gaze pierce his back. He turned around and came face to sword with Yuu who had already drawn Mugen. "What are you doing here?" Kanda asked coolly.

"Nothing at all!" Lavi replied innocently. "I was just heading back down stairs." Normally Lavi would have enjoyed teasing Kanda, but tonight it seemed like he might actually kill him this time. Could he actually be an over protective older brother after all?

Kanda glared at Lavi's back as he descended the stairs towards the rooms. "What's up Yuu?" Rie asked. He turned his attention back to her now, trying to gauge how much of her flirting had been simply teasing Lavi. "I told you if you kept glaring like that your face would stick. It would appear I was right."

"How long have you been out here now?" he asked.

Rie tilted her head back a bit to think. "About a year now," she replied finally. "But before that I was traveling for about two years."

"You left home when you were thirteen?"

"What's the problem with that? You left us when you were nine." Her tone was indifferent but Kanda could detect the undertone. Even he didn't have a reply to her silent accusation. When he left he hadn't thought about how his family might react to his sudden departure. He had been approached by General Tiedoll who had told him the story of Innocence and the Black Order. It hadn't taken much to convince him to join them. Using the Innocence meant having power, but not everyone was capable of wielding that power. He knew he was capable though. He had the knowledge and capacity to know how to use it wisely and effectively. To prevent it from being used by incapable he would take up the Innocence.

"So what are the Black Order's exorcists doing here anyways?" Rie asked her brother, banishing the awkward silence between them.

"Business," he stated simply.

"Well I gathered that much," she scoffed. "I meant some specifics Yutan."

And people wondered why he hated his first name. "There have been reports of odd weather patterns recently; winds going against their natural flow, as well as a large number of akuma sightings."

Rie hesitated before speaking. "I've heard of that," she said.

"You seem concerned," Kanda observed.

"Yeah," she confirmed. "The winds have stayed at the edge of the city for now but there's no telling if that will change."

"You're worried about it harming the city of people?" he asked. She was so sentimental.

"That too, but my concerns are about the festival."

"And what does that matter to you?"

"Well I'll be dancing there and it's qui—" Kanda cut her off before she could continue.

"No," he said suddenly.

"What now?"

"It's far too dangerous to participate in that festival. There will no doubt be akuma everywhere."

Rie shrugged, unconcerned. "Even if there are akuma there, that's what you guys are for, no?"

"Rie…"

"Don't sweat it Yutan!" she said happily, giving him a sunny smile. "Like I'd let a stupid akuma hurt a single hair on my cute little head." Kanda didn't say anything and just looked at her gravely. She sighed. "Lavi's right," she said, standing up. "You are a stick in the mud." She could have sworn she saw him twitch out of the corner of her eye.

"Where are you going?" he asked as she walked towards the stairs.

"Bed," she replied. "I have a show tomorrow. You should probably get some sleep too. You look exhausted."

Kanda sighed. He knew there was no point in arguing with her. She was far too stubborn. So instead he took her advice and headed towards his own room.

Rie closed the door behind her silently and walked to the closet beside her bed. Opening it up she took the two large fans she danced with down from their holders. Her fingers traced the crest at the center of the fan as her mind wandered. She had told Yuu not to worry about akuma showing up tomorrow, but in actuality, it bothered her as well. She had no idea so many akuma had been spotted around the city. What if they did attack the festival tomorrow night? She tightened her grip on the fans for a moment before setting them back within the closet and closing the door. Either way, her dance tomorrow would be one to remember.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N:_ Yay! I'm alive! I haven't dropped off the face of the planet! Or at least I don't think so… Well anyways, sorry this chapter took so long to get out. I had some major writers block for the entire first half of the chapter then I realized I had to actually design Rie's fans which took me the better part of the day (couldn't design one I liked…) But enough of my ranting.

_Chapter Three_

The following morning Kanda descended the stairs into the dining room to find everyone else already there. They sat around the table eating a large breakfast and talking. By the way the chatter ceased and they looked at him as he entered, he knew they had been talking about him. He would have to remember to hurt them all later.

"Yutan! Rie called as she spotted her older brother. He glared at her while walking over to a seat set with an untouched plate of food. Even if it wasn't originally intended for him it was his now. "We were just gossiping about you," Rie told him with an innocent smile. He froze in the middle of eating and closed his eyes, trying to ward off the frustration that he felt growing. He wasn't doing so well. "Do you have a girlfriend yet?"

"Hey, Kanda," Allen asked. "Is it true that you—"

"Say it and die," Kanda cut him off. He turned an accusing gaze to Rie. "What have you been telling them?"

"I told you," she said, like she was talking to a two year old. "We were gossiping about you."

Kanda was about to snap something back at her when Lenalee cut in. "Hey, if we're all done eating perhaps we should look for some signs of akuma or Innocence." While Kanda and Rie's bickering was entertaining, they had more pressing matters to attend to and if she let them begin, who knew when they would stop.

"Sounds like a good idea to me." Allen, who had been busy smirking at Kanda, turned to Lenalee now. "I think it would be better to split up this time. Now that we know more about what we are looking for it would probably be better this way."

"Don't go making decisions for us, Moyashi," Kanda spat.

Allen whipped his gaze back over to Kanda. "It's Allen."

"I do believe Allen may be correct in this matter Kanda," Krory said timidly.

"Yeah, Kanda," Lavi smiled. Normally he would have called Kanda by his first name but he seemed very grumpy right now, so that would probably be a bad idea. "We can cover more ground this way."

"Besides, we can all take care of ourselves," Lenalee added. "There have been no reports of level three akuma so we should be safe in pairs."

"But there are only five of us," Krory pointed out.

"I'll go with Lenalee!" Rie raised her hand, volunteering herself as the sixth member of their scouting party.

"No," Kanda said instantly.

"C'mon Yutan," she whined. "I wanna go too!" She was talking in a childish manner now, hoping to wear Kanda down. He was about to argue with her when he realized that everyone else was watching them. Finally he turned away from Rie with a sigh. She was too stubborn anyways.

Rie, knowing she had won, turned back to Lenalee. "So, where would you like to begin?"

After breakfast cleanup, which Rie stubbornly enforced, the exorcists split up in groups of two; Rie with Lenalee, Allen with Lavi, and Kanda with Krory. The two girls patrolled their designated section of the city, looking for signs of akuma or innocence. Of course, Rie had ulterior motives to choosing this area of town to patrol; it was the shopping district. There wouldn't be anytime for shopping, but she could window shop. If she saw something that interested her, she could always come back and buy it later.

"So, you haven't noticed many akuma lately?" Lenalee asked her suddenly.

Rie had to laugh. "So I get to be a main source of information?"

"Well you are a local," she replied with a smile.

"True," Rie said. She paused for a moment, thinking, before answering Lenalee's question. "I haven't seen any akuma around. Of course, I haven't been out much lately. I've been busy."

"Doing what?" This girl seemed very open and outgoing, the complete opposite of her brother. Lenalee found her very interesting.

"Practicing. I'm a dancer and I'll be performing at the festival."

"You dance?"

"Yep!" She smiled warmly at Lenalee. "Have you ever tried dancing?"

"No," Lenalee replied. "I've been with the Order since I can remember so I've never had the chance to try anything like that." She thought she something dark pass over Rie's face when she mentioned the Order but it was gone so fast she thought perhaps she had imagined it.

"I've got an idea! As soon as we get the chance I'm going to teach you how to dance," she declared.

Lenalee laughed at the other girl's enthusiasm. "If we have time."

They spent several hours wandering around their designated area of town, talking to several people, but mostly just being where they could be seen. So far, nothing. Finally, Rie had to call a stop. "What is it?" Lenalee asked.

"I've got to prepare of the festival this evening," she replied. "I know that searching for akuma and the innocence is more important than the festival…"

"Don't worry about it," Lenalee said. "Do the others know to return around now?"

"Yeah, I told them before we parted."

"Let's head back then." The two girls returned to Rie's house just moments before the rest of the exorcists. Kanda, as expected, was as grumpy as ever.

"Did you guys find anything?" Rie asked them.

"Not us," Lavi sighed.

"We spent hours going down the main streets and side alleys, talking to people here and there," Allen explained.

"We didn't have much luck either," Krory said.

Kanda didn't feel like elaborating. He did have something to say though. "Is there a reason why we are following _her_ orders?" He asked, gesturing to Rie.

"Because I'm the smart one," she stated bluntly. "Now if you'll excuse me, I must go get ready." With that she whirled around and entered her house. The exorcists heard her close the door to her room then turned to each other. They quickly decided to continue their patrol of the town.

In her room Rie was preparing for her performance. Opening her closet she removed her two fans from their holders. Opening them up, she placed them on the dresser, the hand painted images reflected in the mirror. The picture was of a large crest in the centre of the fan and an oriental dragon on either side. The main background colour was a deep purple with black shading on the upper portions. There were also flowers on the left and feathers on the right. She had designed them herself.

Next she took her hair out of the pig tails and slowly began to brush her hair flat. She breathed slowly as she watched her reflection calmly in the mirror. Nerves were a part of everything in life, but she couldn't let them get the better of her. She had been performing for about a year now and had developed a method for taming her nerves.

This evening though was little difficult. A festival was a perfect target for an akuma attack and tonight was the opening ceremony, where she and her two fellow dancers would be performing. Of course, her brother and the rest of the exorcists would be there so she imagined there was no real danger even if an akuma did attack.

Finally getting her nerves under control, Rie stood up and continued to prepare for the festival.

oOo

Evening was beginning to fall when the exorcists arrived at the festival grounds. Strings of lights had been hung between roof tops and tree branches, illuminating the brightly coloured stalls and stages set up throughout the square. Children ran around unsupervised with balloons trailing after them, some wearing funny masks and costumes, others wearing fancy dress clothes. Parents and other adults were socializing in groups; men standing in groups laughing loudly and sharing a beer and women sat on benches and gossiped while others were shopping at the stalls. The festival was to celebrate the different cultures that lived within their city so the stalls sold everything from food delicacies to clothing to toys from all over the world.

"There are too many people here," Kanda muttered.

"Stop your muttering, Kanda," Allen muttered back.

"We don't want to upset the little kiddies, hmm? Let them enjoy their festival." Lavi smiled at two young boys who were playing with a new ball their mother had just bought them.

"Until one of their parents turns out to be an akuma and attacks the festival," Kanda spat.

"Enough, Kanda," Lenalee told him.

"I'll be able to detect any akuma before that happens," Allen said confidently.

"Hey," Lavi said suddenly. "Where'd Kuro-chan go?" Looking around, everyone realized he was right; Count Krory was no where to be seen.

"Count?" Lenalee called.

"Kuro-chan!" Lavi yelled, cupping his hands over his mouth. Thankfully, it didn't take too long to locate him. They found the Count looking at the merchandise of a stall selling small bobbles and trinkets. A cat sat on a chair beside the merchant who was sizing up Krory. Allen could tell he was debating charging the obviously clueless Krory more than the items were worth. That's when he noticed something else as well.

"Timcampy!" He lunged for the cat that had the golden golem's tail sticking out of its mouth.

"Hey!" the merchant yelled, startled. "What are you doing to my cat?"

"Your cat is trying to eat my golem," Allen said while trying to pry the cat's mouth open.

"What the hell's a golem?" the merchant asked skeptically. "He's just eating a bird."

Finally the cat spat out the golden golem. "Timcampy!" Allen grasped the golem and backed away from the cat. "Why do you always have to get eaten by cats?"

"Heh," Kanda smirked at Allen, who turned to glare at him.

"Please don't wander off like that Count," Lenalee sighed.

"I'm sorry, Lenalee," he said, somewhat embarrassed. "I just saw something that was very interesting and I couldn't help but stop and look at it."

"Don't worry, Krory," Lavi said, patting him on the back. "How 'bout we go find the stage Rie is dancing on?" Everyone agreed and they once again began to walk through the crowds. It didn't take long to find. The stage Rie was dancing on was illuminated by softly coloured paper lanterns and the volunteers directing the people who came to watch the performance all wore traditional kimono.

"This must be it," Lenalee said, leading the way to the seats. They were directed to seats in the third row and they sat and waited for the performance to start. They had agreed to sit back and watch the dance. Well, mostly agreed. Kanda, of course, still thought they should be looking for the akuma. Once the crowd settled down, the dance began.

Three young women stepped onto the stage and it took a moment for the exorcists to realize that the one in the centre was Rie. Her blue bangs were brushed to one side and the rest of her hair was done up in a mostly traditional style. She wore a long, purple dancer's kimono with an elaborate design of flowers, dragons and feathers to match the two fans she held in her hands. Her eyes, which were now painted with purple and black makeup, were closed and her expression peaceful, a slight smile on her lips. Her right arm was extended out to her side, holding the fan away from her. She held the fan in her left hand down over her stomach. The two girls behind her, wearing slightly different outfits and fans, stood in similar positions. When the music began, so did they.

Slowly at first, though speeding up slightly as it continued, they began to dance to the music. They moved perfectly in time with one and other, moving their fans in expert movements. They whirled around each other, raising one fan in the air then lowering it in a spinning motion while raising the other. Soon the music was quite fast and the dance had moved away from the traditional and was becoming slightly more modern. That didn't seem to matter to the crowd; their attention was completely riveted on the dancers. Even the exorcists couldn't look away. The dance was entrancing and the dancers more beautiful then anything they had ever seen.

Suddenly an explosion rocked the stage and people started screaming. The exorcists lurched to their feet in alarm, readying their anti-akuma weapons. The akuma were already on them though and they barely had time to react. Using his Clown Belt Allen managed to pull himself and several bystanders to safety.

"What's going on?" Lavi called to him.

"I can't sense them!" Allen called back frantically.

"How is that possible?" Krory had activated his Innocence and now looked every inch a vampire. He had also managed to pull several people to safety.

"I don't know," Allen replied. "It's like their not even there!"

Kanda slashed clean through an akuma with his Mugen. "Don't be stupid," he yelled at the others. "Their here, and their attacking. Now fight! Don't expect me to come running to your aid because you let your guard down." Suddenly he remembered his sister standing alone and unprotected on the stage behind them. He turned around to see an akuma almost upon her. He wouldn't be able to make it to her in time.

Thankfully Lenalee was closer. Using her Dark Boots she smashed the akuma away into another, destroying them both. Rie breathed a sigh of relief and looked over to Kanda only to have her heart stop in fear. A large akuma which appeared to be a level three was directly behind Yuu, preparing to attack. Even if he noticed it now, he wouldn't be able to do anything. Even he might not be able to survive a direct attack from a level three akuma.

Kanda, not able to sense its presence either, didn't see it until it attacked, and then it was too late.

"_BROTHER!"_


End file.
